5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THE ABUSE OF GIRLS IN SCHOOLS

6. CONCLUDING COMMENTS

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

6. CONCLUDING COMMENTS

This research uncovered a great deal of sexual and sex-oriented
activity in and around the four schools which took part in the study. This
activity was transformed all too easily into abusive behaviour by a school
culture which tolerated physical as well as sexual violence. In the three
co-educational schools, the widespread and illegal use of corporal punishment,
aggressive and intimidating behaviour by older boys and sexual advances from
male teachers went unchecked and were considered as 'normal'. At the same time,
the abuse of girls was part of a broader tolerance of violence in the schools,
which also saw younger boys being abused by older boys and widespread bullying
of both boys and girls. While the abuse of girls should not be viewed in
isolation from other features of school violence, it is important to recognise
that girls face additional and unique forms of aggression solely because of
their sex.

The gendered pattern of abusive behaviour within the school
mirrored that found outside in the wider society, with male domestic violence
against women common and sugar daddies preying on young girls as they went to
and from school. Poverty made the risk of girls being exposed to sexual
exploitation much greater since boys, teachers and adult men used money and
gifts as a bribe to coax them into sexual relationships. Given the materialistic
culture in which the girls lived, the strong influence of peers and the greater
social and economic power wielded by males, girls may not be able to resist
continuing demands for sex. Teachers' position of authority in the school would
also make it difficult for girls to refuse their sexual advances. Given the very
high incidence of HIV infection among this female age group, girls are risking
their lives in a very real sense.

The research also revealed a remarkable complacency on the part
of teachers and head teachers in dealing with these issues of abuse. There was a
general reluctance by head teachers, teachers and male pupils in the mixed
schools to acknowledge that male behaviour (and female behaviour in the use of
corporal punishment and verbal abuse) towards girls was unacceptable. Because it
was considered as 'normal', it was not addressed. Boys are taught from an early
age that male control and dominance over females is the norm, while girls are
taught to be submissive and dependent on men and to accept male aggression
passively. When combined with the girls' ambivalent attitude towards male sexual
advances and their limited comprehension at this age of what a sexual
relationship entails, abuse in schools flourishes. Far from counteracting this
gender socialisation, the school merely reinforces it.

Evidence of a link between the abuse of girls and their
under-achievement in school is not clear from this study. What is clear,
however, is that the girls were being forced to study in a hostile and insecure
environment which denigrated them as female, and where they were unable to
concentrate fully on their studies. Attempts to prepare boys and girls for adult
life in these schools are failing badly; sex education is poorly taught,
teachers fail to take on a counselling role with girls and instead abuse them
physically, verbally and sometimes sexually; girls do not discuss problems with
their parents, who in turn are all too ready to see them as being at fault and
to punish them accordingly.

To address the issue of the abuse of girls in schools, all
parties involved in schooling must recognise that the abuse of girls in and
around schools is a consequence of the way in which society accords power to men
over women. We cannot address the issue effectively unless we also seek to raise
the status of women in society, enforce their rights as equal citizens, and
ensure that acts of abuse are prosecuted. If action is seen to be taken, and the
silence and complacency surrounding abuse is broken, many abusers will stop. One
vehicle for addressing issues of abuse is of course formal education. It is
imperative that school heads and Ministry officials see it as their
responsibility to eradicate abusive behaviour so that girls and boys alike can
fulfil their-potential in a safe and secure learning environment.

At the same time as seeking to eliminate the abuse of girls, it
is also necessary to investigate and address the abuse of boys, e.g. excessive
corporal punishment, verbal abuse, bullying (especially of younger boys by older
boys) and possible cases of sexual abuse of boys by teachers, male or female.
The bullying of girls by girls was also not addressed by this study and
certainly exists; this also needs to be
investigated.